Tough draw for Princess Meritaten in Gr1

Last Friday’s stunning Alexandra Park harness racing debutante Princess Meritaten (A Rocknroll Dance) faces an even tougher task when she returns for the $100,000 Woodlands Stud Queen of Hearts this week.

Princess Meritaten’s win had to be seen to be believed as she flew home from a seemingly hopeless position to win on her northern debut last Friday.

It looked the perfect lead-in to this Friday’s Group 1 but the Canterbury mare has not fared well in the barrier draw for the fillies and mares mobile 2200m.

She has drawn the outside of the front line and to make matters worse she has Mr Kaplan (1), Lady Of The Light (4) and somewhat surprise entry Duchess Megxit (6) drawn inside her.

Most would expect Lady Of The Light to lead and in a deep field with 12 runners if Princess Meritaten gets back she is going to have to round up some good horses again.

The other $100,000 mares event on the card is the first running of the TAB Queen of Diamonds Trot which has drawn a 13-horse field but with only a 10m spread in the handicaps.

The big winners in the handicaps are last-start winners Con Grazia Love (R63) and Faith In Manchester (R62) who get in off the front line after well planned campaigns.

This year’s Auckland Cup winner Better Eclipse adds some class to the $60,000 Lincoln Farms Franklin Cup as the open class pacers, well at least some of them, move north after a busy time down south.

The meeting also contains the latest heats of the two Metro series, one each for pacers and trotters.

To see the Auckland fields, click here 

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand